Burmese Spring

Left to right: Nyo Ohn Myint, a member of the National League for Democracy’s government in exile; Larry Jagan, a journalist specializing in Burma and an acknowledged Burma expert; Justin Wintle, a British academic, author and journalist who is an expert on Southeast Asia; Zaw Oo, a Burmese economist.

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. November 23, 2011. The FCCT assembled a panel of knowledgeable experts to analyze the recent important political events in Burma, such as, the adoption of a constitution in 2008, parliamentary elections in 2010, the return of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to politics, the agreement of ASEAN for Burma to become its chair in 2014, and the visit next month of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma, the first by a US Secretary of State in 50 years. There seemed to be agreement among the panelists that what has come out of last year’s elections is heartening.

Burma’s constitution was devised by the military, the elections were not free, and the military remains very much in charge of the country and is willing to put a stop to reforms if they go too fast and too far. Still, the elected parliament is functioning and the military is no longer the only voice being heard in the country. There are an increasing number of political bloggers and people are not afraid to speak out.

The panelists seemed to be at one with the notion that the West and the rest of the world should be willing to engage Burma and end its pariah status, but not push it too hard, which could cause a military backlash. Lifting sanctions on a step-by-step basis as political prisoners are released, for instance, was suggested.

All panelists supported the proposition that the key to political freedom and progress in Burma, was a decrease in the terrible poverty experienced by all but a politically favored few, and that economic reform and the expectation that a middle class would emerge, was the best hope for a more open and free Burma.